This report owes its existence to the support and efforts of many people.

A significant portion of the content of the report is based on a review of the research literature the Education Commission of the States (ECS) commissioned from RAND. That review was carried out by a team that included Cassandra Guarino, Lucrecia Santibañez, Glenn Daley and Dominic Brewer. Several other individuals, in turn, provided review for the RAND work as well as for a late draft of the present report: Robert Floden, Daniel Goldhaber, Rebecca Herman, Richard Ingersoll and Ana Maria Villegas. Richard Ingersoll and his co-author, Jeffrey Kralik, also contributed an important ECS-commissioned literature review of their own on induction and mentoring that is used as a supplement to the RAND review in this report.

Several ECS staff also provided invaluable assistance. Charles Coble offered both welcome moral support and critical insights. Suzanne Weiss worked her usual editorial magic, and Josie Canales painstakingly proofread the final manuscript.

Rick Griffith is responsible for the excellent layout and look of the final online and print products.

In addition, Patricia A. Lauer, of Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning, made a significant contribution to the report as the author of the great majority of the entries in the Glossary.

Finally, and most significantly, this report would not have been possible without the generosity of the U.S. Department of Education and its Fund for the Improvement of Education, which supported the present report, the two other reports in the series and several other related activities. Particular gratitude goes to Thelma Leenhouts, the project's program officer, for her constant encouragement and interest throughout the preparation of this report.

The contributions of many others notwithstanding, the interpretations and opinions expressed herein are the responsibility of the report's author and do not necessarily reflect the views of any of the other individuals or organizations mentioned, including the U.S. Department of Education and the Education Commission of the States.

Michael B. Allen, ECS program director for teaching quality, wrote this report.